


And a Happy New Year, Baby

by blancafic



Series: Very Married [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Bus Kids Feels, Established Relationship, F/M, Holidays, Pregnancy, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22137865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blancafic/pseuds/blancafic
Summary: One year after the events of A Very Married Christmas, Skye takes another call from Jemma's mum and another miscommunication arises. Or maybe not.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Series: Very Married [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1273349
Comments: 12
Kudos: 64





	And a Happy New Year, Baby

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LibbyWeasley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibbyWeasley/gifts).



> This is a belated holiday gift for the lovely and talented LibbyWeasley, the best fandom friend and writing parter I could have ever asked for. Hopefully she won't mind me playing in our little universe without her. ;-)
> 
> Many thanks to AgentofShip for all her help and encouragement with this!

Skye smiled at the sound of Caroline Simmons’ familiar ringtone coming from her phone. 

It had been a little over a year since the number had first appeared on the screen, setting off a chain of events resulting in her two best friends finally admitting their completely obvious love for each other. Now, the Fitz-Simmonses were a few months shy of their first wedding anniversary and Jemma’s mother still called Skye from time to time to check in. Not only on her daughter, but on Skye as well. Sometimes the woman was a little much, she had to admit, but she couldn’t complain. It was nice to know she cared.

“Happy belated Christmas, Skye dear. Did you all get my care packages?”

“We did. Thanks for including me, Caroline. It means a lot.”

Dr. Simmons had insisted Skye call her by her first name last spring, after they’d worked together to plan Fitz and Jemma’s surprise wedding in Vegas. Unlike Fitz — who still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it — she took to it right away. 

“Oh, good. I sent them the first week of December to be sure they’d arrive by the 24th.”

The three of them had had a lot of fun on Christmas Eve, stuffing themselves with authentic British holiday treats and snapping pictures in their new matching pajamas. Even Fitz had joined in. Though he’d grumbled at first, Skye could tell he actually enjoyed their new pj tradition. The smile on his face in the photos was completely genuine, though that might have had more to do with the delicious homemade baked goods and how adorable his wife looked in plaid flannel.

“It’s nice to know you kids have a stable place to spend the holidays. You don’t know how worried I was when I heard you lot had been living on an actual airplane. My word.”

Skye couldn’t argue with that. As much as she’d loved the Bus — it had definitely been a step up from her van — she liked having a place to come back to after their missions. At the Playground she had a bunk of her own with an actual bed and four solid walls. Not to mention, her memories of the Bus were now tainted thanks to their traitorous former teammate. If it hadn’t been for Jemma’s cousin warning them about Ward and Hydra’s infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., who knows what could have happened or who might have been hurt.

“It’s too bad Jemma and Leo had to cancel their trip home this year,” Caroline continued. “It was so nice having them with us last Christmas. Despite all the fuss.”

“Yeah, they were sorry they couldn’t make it too.” Neither of them had said so directly, at least not to her, but Skye felt like it was something Caroline would like to hear. 

“I wonder what made them change their plans so suddenly. Neither one of them gave us any explanation. Just a quick email at the last minute saying they had to work over the holiday and not another word about it.”

“They’ve been super busy lately. I’m sure they’ll find time to reschedule soon.”

In truth, Fitz and Jemma had been sent to the other side of the globe to reach out to their old friend Donnie Gill, who’d somehow wound up on the gifted index after their last encounter. They’d completed the mission successfully and, after delivering Donnie safely to the Sandbox, had returned to the base on the 23rd. But with all the debriefings and lab work that followed, they’d been forced to postpone their holiday trip to the U.K. indefinitely.

Of course, Skye couldn’t tell Jemma’s mother any of that. She was aware they didn’t spend all their time in the lab, but she had no idea of the extent of their work in the field. As secretive as S.H.I.E.L.D. was before Hydra’s failed takeover attempt, things were more locked down than ever, and Jemma’s family hadn’t proven to be exactly discrete in the past. So, although Jemma had promised to be more open with her parents this past year, there were some things that were too sensitive to share.

“Oh, I suppose so,” Caroline lamented. “Only I hope it’s nothing terribly dangerous. Are you all staying safe?”

She could hear the motherly worry in the woman’s voice and tried another tactic.

“Yeah, no, it’s nothing like that. It’s, um, it’s Jemma. She’s been really overworked lately, so they decided to take it easy this year.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Skye suddenly felt like a suspect being questioned by a police detective who knew far more about the case than she was letting on.

“Yep. Definitely. That’s all it is.”

“She’s been tired you say?”

“Uh, yeah.”

That part was true. Jemma had admitted to feeling a bit sluggish and had been turning in earlier than usual for the past couple of weeks. She’d even fallen asleep in the middle of movie night twice, which wasn’t especially unusual, except that Skye and Fitz had let her pick the movie both times.

“Any stomach issues? Changes in appetite? Nausea or the like?”

Caroline had her doctor voice on now. Thinking back on it, Skye could have sworn she’d heard someone hurling in the women’s restroom on Christmas morning. And though she remembered Fitz drinking beer that night, Jemma had stuck exclusively to herbal tea. She’d eaten more than her usual share of sweets too, which wasn’t like Jemma at all.

That was when she remembered Dr. Caroline Simmons’ medical specialty. Maybe she was onto something.

“Actually, now that you mention it, yes to all three.”

“Well, fancy that. Looks like Jean owes me 20 pounds.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I bet her that the kids would be expecting by the end of the year. It’s just under the wire, but I do believe I’ve won.”

“So you think Jemma is . . .”

“That’s exactly what I think. It’s been lovely catching up Skye dear, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to let you go now. I know an excellent fellow ob-gyn not far from you and I need to ring her right away to see if she’s taking new patients. Then I’ll be calling Jean, of course. Let’s talk soon, shall we? And please tell Jemma to call me as soon as she can. Such wonderful news!”

Before Skye could react, Jemma’s mother had already hung up.

Well, that could have gone better. 

Skye stared at her phone, not quite sure what had just happened. Somehow Caroline had gotten the idea in her head that her daughter was pregnant and Skye couldn’t find any reason to contradict her. How did she always do that? Skye should have known better. The unparalleled rhetorical chaos of the Simmons women could be impossible to follow (unless your name was Leopold Fitz).

As if on cue, her two best friends strolled into the lab, animatedly discussing something, or possibly arguing. It was hard to tell sometimes. Since their mission in Sheffield last Christmas the two of them had ensconced themselves in a happy, impenetrable bubble. Fortunately, they were always willing to expand it to let her inside and never made her feel like a third wheel. Except when they went off on one of their nerdy science tangents. Like they were right now. Skye shook her head. What a couple of dorks. 

These thoughts of warm affection only made her heart sink. She bit her lip, trying to figure out how to explain to them that Jemma’s mother was probably on the phone at this very moment scheduling an appointment with an obstetrician. Either Jemma was pregnant — in which case she’d stolen their moment of breaking the news to the grandparents-to-be — or she wasn’t, and Caroline would have to be informed that she’d been led to the wrong conclusion. Again.

The look on her face must have given something away, because as soon as Fitz saw it, he halted in the middle of whatever point he was making and eyed her with suspicion.

“Skye? What did you do?”

She attempted to act casual, focusing her eyes on the desk in front of her and tracing the keys of her laptop with her thumb. “Nothing. Just got off the phone with Jemma’s mom. She says ‘hi,’ by the way.”

Neither of them were buying it.

“And?” Jemma pushed.

“Also she might . . . be under the impression that, um, well. . .”

Fitz put his hands on his hips. “Out with it.” 

“That . . . Jemma may be . . . pregnant.”

Fitz’s eyebrows shot up. He licked his lips in irritation, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Skye! Seriously? I thought we’d straightened this out after the last time!”

Jemma put a hand on Fitz’s arm. “Hey, that didn’t turn out so bad, did it?”

“No, but now we’re going to have to call her and tell her she’s got the wrong idea. Again. They’ll never believe another word we say.”

“So it’s not true? Jemma isn’t pregnant?”

“Of course not,” Fitz snapped back.

Skye pinned him with a look, trying to assess whether he was hiding anything. “Are you sure?”

Fitz just huffed. “I think I’d know if my own wife was gonna have a baby.”

She looked to Jemma for a reaction. Finding none, she was forced to change her original assumption. Maybe it had all been a coincidence after all. Which meant she was the one responsible for the miscommunication. She hoped they wouldn’t ask her to be the one to take it back.

“Oh. Sorry, I just thought—”

“It’s alright. Perfectly reasonable assumption to make,” Jemma said. Skye didn’t miss the way Fitz gaped at his wife after that statement. “We’ll ring her up and make everything clear.”

“In that case, Fitz you should probably call your mom too. Apparently they had some kind of bet going.”

He threw up his hands. “Oh, that’s bloody fantastic.”

Jemma pressed her lips together, but Skye couldn’t quite read her expression. Having no idea what can of worms she’d opened between the newlyweds, she figured it was probably best to let them work it out on their own.

“I’ll . . . uh, leave you to it, then. Sorry. Again.”

* * *

Jemma felt nothing but sympathy for Skye as she watched her leave the lab. She’d had a lifetime of dealing with her mother and knew how to deflect her prodding, but Skye was still new to it. Fitz wasn’t quite so forgiving, however.

“I can’t believe this,” he said, reaching out a hand toward the door Skye had just exited, then letting it rest on his hip.

“It’s not her fault. Mum can be quite forceful when she has an idea about something. Especially when it’s something she’s been hoping for.”

Fitz shook his head. “Well, do you want to make the call or should I? I’d say we ought to make Skye do it, but by the time she got off the phone she’d have us settled down in a cottage somewhere with an entire brood.”

“Maybe we don’t have to this time.” Jemma’s voice was quiet, but Fitz was always attuned to it, no matter the volume. He spun around to face her.

“You wanna keep it going? Are you mad? It’s one thing to tell your mum we’re dating when we’re not, but at some point we’d have to actually produce a grandchild.”

Jemma took a long breath. For a genius, Fitz could be surprisingly thick sometimes. “What if I was already working on that?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Fitz—”

Finally, the penny dropped. She didn’t have to finish, he saw everything in her eyes. His own turned suddenly glassy.

“Jemma?” Her whispered name sounded like a prayer on his lips. Her smile was all the confirmation he needed.

“Yes,” she said simply.

“Do you mean to say—” His voice trailed off, too filled with emotion to continue. He took a moment, swallowed hard, and finally said the words out loud. “You’re saying I’m going to be a father?”

Jemma nodded vigorously, letting the tears that had been welling up in her eyes flow freely down her cheeks.

“We’re having a baby,” Fitz said, softly, to himself. Jemma could almost see the wheels turning in his head, his usual rapid thought process slowing down to work through this massive bit of life-changing news. Finally, he smiled wide and said it again, this time almost shouting, “We’re having a baby!”

He pulled her into his arms and squeezed, laughing joyously. Jemma laughed with him. She knew his hugs well enough by now to know he was holding himself back, which was actually quite sweet. He was going to be such an amazing dad.

There was a commotion outside the lab and Skye burst in. “Ha! I knew it!” she shouted, brandishing a tablet in one hand and pointing back and forth between them with the other.

“Were you spying on us?” Fitz asked, pulling back slightly but not letting Jemma go.

“Only a little,” Skye admitted. “I wanted to make sure my little slip-up hadn’t caused any trouble between you guys. But it turns out it wasn’t a slip-up after all, was it?”

She punched Jemma in the arm, but unlike Fitz, she didn’t hold back. Jemma fought a wince. Skye’s training with May was paying off, it seemed.

“How did you know?” Jemma asked, sniffling and wiping her face with the back of one hand.

Jemma had only started putting the pieces together herself a few weeks ago. When the telltale symptoms started appearing she discreetly ran a series of tests in the lab. Each one came up positive. That had been the day after Christmas. Two days ago.

“Let’s just say I know you too well.” Skye shot Fitz a gratified look. He grimaced in response, but only for an instant. Then his smile returned, lighting up his face in the way Jemma loved so much. “I’m really happy for you guys.”

“Thank you,” Jemma said, pulling Skye into the hug. “You’re going to be the best auntie ever.”

“I am, aren’t I?” she said with complete certainty. “So this is happy news, right?”

“It is,” Jemma confirmed. She glanced over at Fitz, aware she’d spoken for both of them without really knowing his feelings on the subject. He didn’t contradict her, but he looked a little shellshocked. “If you don’t mind, though, I’d like a few moments with my husband. I’m not sure it’s quite sunk in yet.”

“Of course.” Skye started to leave, then suddenly turned around again, clasping her hands together. “Can I tell the rest of the team? Please?”

“I think you’ve done enough for one day,” Fitz said, more amused than upset.

“Ugh. Fine. I won’t say anything.” 

The two of them nodded their appreciation. They moved closer together, smiling first at her, and then at each other again as she left them alone.

Fitz took her hands in his and shook his head. “I can’t believe Skye figured it out before I did.” 

“You really didn’t know?”

“How would I? I’ve never gotten anyone pregnant before.”

Her smile became a smirk. “I should hope not.”

He laughed and pulled her close, smoothing the back of her hair with his hand. Whenever he did that, she knew everything was going to be alright. When he looked at her again, his blue eyes were sparkling. “I knew you’d been feeling tired. And that you’d been sneaking into the candy stash in my desk. I just thought it was stress, what with the holidays and the mission and everything.”

“Oh, Fitz.” She gave him a short, sweet kiss. “Are you truly happy about this? It’s okay to be scared or worried. We never really talked about it.”

“Not in so many words, but I think we both knew it was something we wanted. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel when the time came. But now that it’s here, I feel like we’re ready. We’re going to do this like we do everything else. Together.”

Jemma kissed him again, this time pouring all the love she felt into it. He kissed her back, just as passionately as he had that first time under the mistletoe. It was still as intoxicating as it had been then. Had that only been a year ago? They’d spent so much of their past being friends and partners, convincing themselves that was enough. Now, she could hardly remember what it was like to hide her feelings for him, even from herself. Without looking, she felt for the ring on her left hand with the pad of her thumb, the perfect wedding ring he’d made just for her. It had become a habit, a way to reassure herself that this was real, that his love for her had always been real. He’d never given her any cause to doubt it, but she was always grateful for the reminder.

When they broke apart, he rested his hands gently on her stomach, gaping in awe. It was so endearing she decided not to ruin the moment by telling him there was nothing to feel there yet. By her calculations, a fetus at this stage would be about the size of a kidney bean. It would continue to grow, though, and her heart along with it. She’d never considered herself a romantic before, but there seemed to be no limit to the love she had for Fitz and the family they were building.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a few members of their _other_ family gathering outside the lab. Coulson and May were there, along with their newest teammates, Trip, Mack, Hunter, and Bobbi. Skye was pacing back and forth, biting her thumb. Honestly, did their friend have any amount of self control at all? It seemed their secret was already out.

Fitz nodded his head to the side, in the direction of the windows. “Looks like we’ve got an audience. Might as well face the music, yeah?”

“We live on a secret base surrounded by trained spies. I’m surprised it took this long.”

He held out his hand for her, wiggling his fingers. She took it and he led them into the hallway, where they were met with half a dozen stares and an agitated Skye.

“Look, I didn’t say anything. I swear. They all just knew and I—”

“Relax.” Jemma gently put her hand on her arm and offered Skye a warm smile. “It’s fine. Really. We don’t mind.” 

One look at Fitz told her he agreed.

“Actually, it was me.” Bobbi stepped out from the back of the group. “Even if I hadn’t recognized the symptoms, I found like half a dozen tests in the biowaste bin, so . . .”

Jemma felt heat rise in her cheeks as everyone turned their attention to her. “It wasn’t that many,” she said with a nervous laugh. It had actually been seven, but they were all different tests. There was nothing wrong with being thorough when it came to the health and well being of your progeny.

“Let me guess,” Fitz said, squinting and rubbing his neck with one hand. “You told Hunter and he told—

“Pretty much everyone,” Hunter confirmed. “Yep. That’s about the size of it.”

There were nods and shrugs from Coulson, Mack, and Trip. Bobbi rolled her eyes. May had no visible reaction and Skye looked put out.

She rounded on Hunter and asked “What about me? You didn’t tell me.”

“I was getting around to you, love.” He winked, but Skye remained immune to his charms.

Next to her, Fitz fidgeted and frowned. “Great. So I was the last to know, was I?”

“I didn’t know,” May said, crossing her arms. “I’m only here because Coulson said he had an announcement to make. I thought it was S.H.I.E.L.D. business. Glad it’s not.”

Was that a smile on Agent Melinda May’s face? It was gone before Jemma could say for sure.

“What May means to say is ‘congratulations’ you two,” Coulson supplied, offering them each a firm handshake. “We can work out the details later. And by details I mean what this baby genius is going to call me. I’m kinda leaning towards Uncle Phil, but I’m open to suggestions.”

“Thank you, sir.” She could practically see Fitz’s chest expanding in response to Coulson’s approval. She knew it meant a lot to him. It meant a lot to both of them.

“I hope you know that S.H.I.E.L.D. has your back. You’re not alone in this. Like it or not. If there’s anything you need, just ask.”

“We will, sir," Jemma said. "And we really appreciate it.”

Then there was such a swarm of well wishes, hugs, laughs, and pats on the back that Jemma lost track of them all.

“Proud of you, buddy,” Mack told Fitz with a brotherly rub of his shoulder.

Trip offered him a high five. “Nice job, man.”

Of course they would give Fitz the credit when it was actually Jemma doing all the hard work. In their professional life, Fitz was always quick to correct the record and make sure her contributions were acknowledged, but this time he seemed content to bask in the singular praise. She didn’t mind, really. She was so filled with love and happiness she figured she’d let him have this one.

As if reading her thoughts, Trip held up his hand to high-five her as well. “You too, Simmons. You got this.”

It wasn’t long before everyone, having expressed their joy and excitement at the news, returned to their usual routines, while Fitz and Jemma headed back to their room together. They walked slowly, hand in hand, planning to celebrate in their own private way and looking forward to a promising future, both immediate and distant.

**Author's Note:**

> Wishing the absolute best year to all of you reading this, whenever you're reading this and whatever year it might be! 
> 
> You can always find me on Tumbler @blancasplayground.


End file.
